Is Ignorance Really Bliss?

Somedays I wonder, in my single mother life, if I could do without the loves and loathes, and really time-wasting of social media. For me, as a self-employed sole trader, adult conversation can be rare, but is becoming more regular as my boys get older and more independent/social. For so many years, I relied on social media, Skype and the phone as my only adult outlet to talk to friends, as many of my closest friends live overseas or interstate, but as social media sites like Facebook get bombarded with advertising, campaigning and protesting, you wonder if, for that small snippet of seeing that your friends are enjoying life, is it worth scanning through your news feed, through all the 'junk mail' to see something that makes you happy or laugh?

But then you see something you don't like, for instance, a bit of cyber-bullying, the repercussions of a conversation you've had off social media that's gone wrong, or even one of your friends becoming friends with someone you would rather steer away from. Wouldn't it be nice to be ignorant of it all?

The joy of being focused on 'you' rather than on others is quite liberating. You don't have to worry about what others are thinking of you, you don't have to worry about the outcomes of other's posts on something you've written or posted. You can be yourself, you can do what you want, and you have time to do it, as you aren't focusing on others through social media outlets.

Yet the Catch 22 of it all, is that you want to share your joys with people, shout it out to the world that you're proud of your kids, managed to cross something off your bucket list, got a promotion at work, met the man of your dreams… whatever it is, you want people to be happy for you, and Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc are great places to get that instant gratification (or not, when you hope for more likes that you actually get).

It is hard as a single parent to get the balance of real people time and social media people time… There are some absolutely beautiful moments to be shared between friends on social media, and other times the worry, hurt and frustrations can be overwhelming and dominate your thoughts. Yet the best moments are always shared in person… some are easy, others almost impossible due to finances, time and opportunity restrictions.

I am going to challenge myself to be social media free for a month, maybe more, just to make time to focus on me, my boys and my dreams. I will start next weekend… July 20. I will write a diary style blog of how I'm feeling about removing myself from Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter, any benefits, and any losses… and see if I cave. I will post on Facebook/Twitter directly from my blog without actually looking at the websites. I've put it in my calendar, and I will see if ignorance is really bliss! Happy to have any of my readers face the same challenge.